Racing / Car / Vehicle Game Thread

[cicada88]

Racing is one of those genres of games that I feel like I overlook on retro systems.

Recently, I've been playing a lot of Rad Racer on NES and Super Hang-On for 3DS, and I realize that racing games are some of the most fun and addicting for me.

Looking for reccs across all generations and not confined to just car racing. It can be other vehicles or even things like Chase HQ where its a unique genre but involves vehicles and speed.

[Xan]

Wipeout 3 and F-Zero GX. I also really like Crash Team Racing and consider it a far better game than Mario Kart 64.

[rancor]

Ghegs runs this forum:

http://www.rolling-start.com/

[CIT]

I'm not that into racing games, but these are my favorites:

Burnout 3
F-Zero GX
the original F-Zero
Chase HQ, S.C.I.
OutRun, OutRun 2
Power Drift, Rad Mobile, basically any Sega superscaler stuff
Mashed (great multiplayer car battle game)

[Gespenst]

Runabout series if you love to driving into stuff with the most unusual car choice ever.

Speaking of, how's the 3DS version?

[gct]

I really like isometric racing games.

Super RC Pro-Am on the GameBoy, anyone have something a bit more modern to recommend like that?

I know of the NeoGeo games, Drift Out, Over Top, Thrash Rally... actually maybe I should try these again. But is there anything a bit more like RC? Not Motorstorm RC, that felt really floaty to me.

[cicada88]

I really want to try F-Zero GX. I've never owned a GC, so I haven't had a chance but the original F-Zero is pretty much a timeless racing game to me.

[cicada88]

Ghegs runs this forum:

http://www.rolling-start.com/

thanks...looks great & bookmarked

[Gespenst]

I really like isometric racing games.

Super RC Pro-Am on the GameBoy, anyone have something a bit more modern to recommend like that?

There was that fanmade modern Rock 'n Roll Racing remake/Motor Rock but it was taken out from Steam for obvious reasons.

[Ruldra]

@gct: I skimmed over your post and was about to say Motorstorm RC, lol. I wanted to like that game so much but I too thought the controls felt off or something. Too bad because everything else looks perfect.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

The GCN port of F-Zero GX runs at a silky smooth 60fps framerate and can be played on a 4:3 or 16:9 type monitor. It looks super razor sharp running on a low-res 15 kHz arcade monitor setup using a modded Japanese GCN D-Terminal to VGA cable hooked up an Ultracade uVC setup. Closest way to mimick a setup on the original F-Zero AX deluxe arcade cab or by going with a tri-sync monitor instead. Of course, by using a handy old-school CRT-based SVGA monitor, it'll look at it's best running in 640 x 480 progressive mode easily.

The Grid racing series (Autosport: Grid, Grid 2 & Grid Autosport) are cool on the PS3/360 platforms.

The optional Microsoft Speed Wireless Wheel works just fine with 360 based racing titles including Daytona USA as well and no lag whatsover. Has handy analog triggers for both gas and brake & built-in rumble functionality from the get-go.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[BIL]

I really like isometric racing games.

Super RC Pro-Am on the GameBoy, anyone have something a bit more modern to recommend like that?

I know of the NeoGeo games, Drift Out, Over Top, Thrash Rally... actually maybe I should try these again. But is there anything a bit more like RC? Not Motorstorm RC, that felt really floaty to me.

Rock n' Roll Racing (SNES/SFC) and RC De Go! (PS1) are both excellent. RnRR is more Pro-Am like with the heavy focus on weapons, RCDG is closer to a pure technical racer (though it does have a boost mechanic).

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Yep, RC de Go! was distributed in limited numbers for the USA PSX market. Was cool to see Taito team up with Kyosho to promote the JPN region RC de Go! game at the Spring 2000 Tokyo Game Show where it was available to try out as a playable demo alongside with Ray Crisis back in late March of 2000. There were four lines of 10 people deep just to try out the Ray Crisis demo setups easily. Considering that both PSX ports of RC de Go! & Ray Crisis were originally released on Taito's G-Net arcade hardware platform, some concessions/trade-offs had to be made to have 'em run on the PSX console -- still impressive nonetheless.

Asked about when the PSX port of Ray Crisis was going to be available to buy...was told that it'd go on sale on April 20th, 2000, as the initial debut day within Japan. The exclusive bonus of being able to play Pocket Ray on the venerable PocketStation was a plus but it took a whopping 11 blocks (out of 12 total) of memory on the PocketStation itself. Only if SCEI had blessed the PocketStation with just a tad bit more memory rather than the standard 1mb allocated size typical with official PSX memory cards (thus making more room for more than just one downloaded PocketStation mini game or app).

The PSX game of Ridge Racer Type 4 has built-in support for PocketStation. How cool is that? Both the JPN & USA region PSX ports of RRT4 have PocketStation support, indeed. SCEA never did bring the PocketStation stateside despite a handful of USA region PSX games having official PocketStation support from the get-go. Was hoping that the PocketStation would be distributed in the USA back in 2000/2001 but that never came to be.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Xyga]

I'm still trying to figure the best racing games on the PS1 that are not Wipeout or GT.
There are so many...

EDIT: I mean PS1. But PS2 is good too.

[gct]

Rock n' Roll Racing (SNES/SFC) and RC De Go! (PS1) are both excellent. RnRR is more Pro-Am like with the heavy focus on weapons, RCDG is closer to a pure technical racer (though it does have a boost mechanic).

Awesome! BIL delivers again, will check those out (can't believe I hadn't played RnRR yet), RCDG looks great.

Shame about Motor Rock, it looks very well made.

[BIL]

I remembered liking the Genesis version of RnRR as a kid, happened across a Super Famicom copy recently and liked it enough to pick it up. It's held up really well. Kinda cool that the SFC version was published by Namco, too.

About RCDG, it's worth noting that in NTSCJ it got a D3 "Simple" reprint as "The RC Car" - should go for cheap even brand new, and afaik only the title screen differs from the original Taito print.

[Ghegs]

I'm still trying to figure the best racing games on the PS1 that are not Wipeout or GT.
There are so many...

I'd wholeheartedly recommend Side By Side Special 2000. And the Ridge Racer games. And Hover Racing.

[Xyga]

I'm still trying to figure the best racing games on the PS1 that are not Wipeout or GT.
There are so many...

I'd wholeheartedly recommend Side By Side Special 2000. And the Ridge Racer games. And Hover Racing.

Thanks! Already played the RR games a long time ago and I kind of forgot about those. ^^

What about the Racing Lagoon, Touge Max G, Ray Tracers, Initial D, some Shutokou ? Are those all just boring 1-on-1 ?
I take titles from your listings and watch videos, some games look very good for the system but it's hard to tell if they're worth the time and money.

[gct]

Best to get some other opinions, but I remember being quite disappointed with PS1 Initial D as a driving game. Seemed more like a cash-in for fans rather than a serious effort at making a tight-handling driving game. But what do I know, racing games aren't really my thing.

[Ghegs]

I'm still trying to figure the best racing games on the PS1 that are not Wipeout or GT.
There are so many...

I'd wholeheartedly recommend Side By Side Special 2000. And the Ridge Racer games. And Hover Racing.

Thanks! Already played the RR games a long time ago and I kind of forgot about those. ^^

What about the Racing Lagoon, Touge Max G, Ray Tracers, Initial D, some Shutokou ? Are those all just boring 1-on-1 ?
I take titles from your listings and watch videos, some games look very good for the system but it's hard to tell if they're worth the time and money.

I've written a bit about most of these in the neGcon article. I haven't played Racing Lagoon, but I do like Touge Max G, Ray Tracers and Initial D. I might be alone with the last one, though. It has a peculiar feel to it that's hard to describe, but when doing some of the training challenges available I became convinced there's potential for skillful play there that hasn't really been explored.

The games really come alive when doing time attacks as the races are one vs. one affairs otherwise. Well, Ray Tracers is the exception since it has the whole Chase HQ-esque story mode going for it as well where you need to ram tanks and such.

[louisg]

I've been playing a bit of Super Cycle on C64. It's a mixed bag, but I enjoy it overall. YouTube review coming soon. I posted some tips here: http://www.lemon64.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 531#639531

I also ordered a copy of Speed Buggy for the same platform (also known as Buggy Boy). I can't recommend that one enough! It's an obstacle course checkpoint racing game where you collect colored flags in a specific order to score, jump off of logs over boulders, go up banked ramps. Very cool. I'd recommend the C64 or Amiga versions over MAME, just because in MAME it doesn't play very well in emulation (I think it's one of those paddle-style controls in MAME that doesn't map to analog joystick/wheel right, like RoadBlasters). Here's the arcade version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uWaN_9uSVw .. the C64 one is like that but with cute blocky 8-bit sprites.

And, as long as I'm talking about that era/platform, Stunt Car Racer is worth checking out too. It's a unique fantasy racing game where the races take place on these roller coaster-like tracks. You not only need to get your car-platforming skills up to speed, but you also have to be careful to land well or you damage your ride (cracks slowly appear in the cockpit ). Both the C64 and Amiga versions are really good. Here's a review that LemonAmiga put together: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIOkUquoygM

Recently I also played a bit of Top Gear 2 for SNES which I'd also recommend to anyone who liked the Lotus series. IMO, it's actually quite a bit better than the games that inspired it. I tried starting a thread on the Rolling Start forums here: http://www.rolling-start.com/forum/view ... 221787cec0

Man, don't get me started on oldschool racing recommendations. That's one of my favorite genres and I can go all day

[PC Engine Fan X!]

On the GBA, the Sega Arcade Hits compliation has not one but two racing titles to choose from: Out Run & Super Hang On -- both run at silky-smooth 60fps framerates (even though the original Out Run arcade game wasn't playable at that particular framerate) but at the expense of having a shorter GBA Li-Ion battery pack duration if fully charged (and due to the GBA's CPU being overclocked as well). Same shorter battery duration issue applies if running the SAH port on an GB Micro setup.

It's possible to reach scores of over 23 to 25+ million on the GBA OR title if you don't crash at all during a single racing session (easier said than done, of course) upon reaching the finish line with plenty of time to spare.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Obiwanshinobi]

Speaking of some odd vehicular games, like no other, I can tell you about:
Motocross Maniacs - only the first THPS for GBC looks a bit like it to me (if not quite as fun).
Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising - simply brilliant mouse & keyboard controls, a proof how underused m&k in vehicular games are. Only Halo: Combat Evolved on PC and BG&E (PC version too, with mouse sensitivity maxed out BEFORE entering the racing area) showed me something comparably playful in this regard.
Although my Wild Metal Country PC copy keeps staring at me from my ever-swelling backlog, this here Eurogamer article makes it sound like fun.

[guigui]

I had lofs of fun with Sonic & all-stars racing transformed on the PS3.
Kart racer, superior to mario kart in many ways, except when it comes to collision, which are most of the time avoidable given the width of the tracks.

[Obiwanshinobi]

So, I'd like to read of more oddities. Shame there seems to be no Twisted Metal-like FPS mod for engine older than UT3 (TM: Black always felt like a true console response to most frantic PC first person shooters if you ask me; it's this kind of crazy fun game engine - best played with headphones).

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I had lofs of fun with Sonic & all-stars racing transformed on the PS3.
Kart racer, superior to mario kart in many ways, except when it comes to collision, which are most of the time avoidable given the width of the tracks.

Sega did a stellar job with the PS Vita port of Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed as well.

The GBA racing title of GT3 Advance is really Gran Turismo Lite if you stop to ponder about it.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Obiwanshinobi]

No GBA user should be without F-Zero: Maximum Velocity (also on VC). Pretty sweet gameplay and performance (alas, not-so-sweet music) aside, it's a looker too. Recent VC release (and the Cannonball PC port of the original OutRun) elevated my hopes for another "Mode 7" racer (imagine how gorgeous it could be).
All I read about Moto Racer Advance makes it seem at least as good as Maximum Velocity... and no less impressive than Super Monkey Ball Jr. (Maximum Velocity was, at the end of the day, a retro game, whereas Moto Racer was a whole new generation to begin with).

[Immryr]

I had lofs of fun with Sonic & all-stars racing transformed on the PS3.
Kart racer, superior to mario kart in many ways, except when it comes to collision, which are most of the time avoidable given the width of the tracks.

did you play the first sega all stars racing game? I absolutely love it and just couldn't get into transformed after playing this first so much.

[Ruldra]

One racing game that I found completely by accident and like very much is Victory Run. I wrote a little about it over at Rolling Start.

Victory Run is a rally game made for the TurboGrafx-16 (also available on PSN and Virtual Console). You go from Paris to Dakar in 8 stages, maneuvering through traffic and trying to reach each checkpoint in the alloted time.

The great thing about this game is that you have to look out for your car and avoid damaging its components. Before you start the game, you pick a number of spare parts to take with you (tires, gearbox, engine, suspension and brake discs). As you complete the stages, the parts start to wear down and you need to replace them. How you drive affects how much some parts wear down: overreving too much will degrade the engine, switching gears too much can damage the gearbox and result in a loss of gears, and so on. It's an endurance race, so you can't just drive recklessly.

Other nice features includes day/night transitions, dips and climbs on the road (reaching the top of a climb too fast will make the car jump - losing speed and damaging the suspension), oversteer, and a cool detail on stage 5 where the track has very low grip and you need to avoid wheelspin, otherwise your speed will drop to zero instantly. For a game made in 89, it's a very impressive list of features.

And finally, this game is very challenging. You have a 1 minute allowance to reach the checkpoint, and if you fail it's game over. No continues for you.

Playthrough of mine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI-zk9Kuj-E

[guigui]

I had lofs of fun with Sonic & all-stars racing transformed on the PS3.
Kart racer, superior to mario kart in many ways, except when it comes to collision, which are most of the time avoidable given the width of the tracks.

did you play the first sega all stars racing game? I absolutely love it and just couldn't get into transformed after playing this first so much.

I own the first episode in the DS, but played it after Racing Transformed.
I think the opposite is happening, cant quite get into first episode after playing that much Transformed.
Transformations are awkward at first and boats are pretty hard to control, but really satisfying once you know how.